The Delicate Beauty of the Era Novel Big Shot

Genres:

Tags:

Novel Info

Author:
糖瓜子
Status:Ongoing

Summary

Lin Aiyun is a petite, dazzling beauty—the kind rarely seen for miles around. But she trusted the wrong man and wasted most of her life in vain. She thought she’d just muddle through the rest of her days.

Until she met Xiao Cheng. To the outside world, he was ruthless and overbearing, but to her, he was gentle and accommodating, indulging her in everything.

On her deathbed, afraid she’d be lonely on the road ahead, he chose to go with her.

Opening her eyes again, she’s back at eighteen. Lin Aiyun decides that in this life, she’ll find him first.

Under a dim streetlamp, the man before her is dressed in a suit, shirt half-unbuttoned. His fingers brush past her ear, and he lets out a soft chuckle. Leaning down to her lips, he murmurs in a low, husky voice: “Miss Lin… your breathing is awfully fast~”

Before long, it’s impossible to tell whose breathing has grown more erratic. They tangle together, seducing one another, red plum blossoms blooming—lips already bitten raw.

He takes what he wants with fierce passion, a fiery temper—wild and untamed, even more so than in his previous life.

Xiao Cheng was born cold and merciless, stopping at nothing to get what he wants. Within just a few years, he took over all the family business. In the capital, there’s one rule: don’t mess with this young crown prince.

But no one knows that lately, he’s been plagued by strange occurrences—night after night, he dreams of a beauty entwined with him in a courtyard, her soft, whimpering pleas scratching an irresistible itch in his heart. Yet every time he wakes, he can’t find a trace of her anywhere, no matter how hard he searches.

For this very reason, he travels south in search of answers—and a familiar figure stumbles into his sight. At that moment, he snuffs out the incense in his hand, a cruel, uninhibited smile curling at the corner of his lips.

“Found you.”

Xiao Cheng is exactly the type of man Lin Aiyun despises most—wild, unrestrained, acting entirely on impulse, tall and formidable. After getting together with him, he wears her out completely.

But later, he becomes the man she loves most of all.

Novel Items

Double suicide medicine

Item

The poison that Lin Aiyun and Xiao Cheng drank together in their previous life. After drinking it, Xiao Cheng held her frail, dying body in his arms on a cold hospital bed, waiting for death to claim them both.

Yellow Springs Road

Item

The path to the afterlife in Chinese mythology. Xiao Cheng told Lin Aiyun that after drinking the medicine, they would walk the Yellow Springs Road together and be reborn together.

Bowl of forgetfulness

Item

The soup in Chinese underworld mythology that erases memories of past lives. Xiao Cheng hoped that Granny Meng would pity their devoted marriage and let them skip drinking from this bowl so they could remember each other in their next life.

Round mirror

Item

A round mirror hanging behind the door in Lin Aiyun's childhood room. She used it to confirm she had been reborn to her younger body, seeing her smooth, young face instead of her wrinkled old one.

Wall calendar

Item

An old calendar on the wall showing only the 1983 months partially visible. Li Baohui tears down the remaining scraps after finding them smeared with yellowish-green dried snot, symbolizing the removal of the squatters' presence.

Bamboo Basket

Item

A large, heavy basket Su Xiaoyin carried on her back after returning from the city. It was completely filled with items including a medicine-grinding pestle, medicinal herbs, and braised dishes.

Latest Release

Date	Group	Release
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c111
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c110
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c109
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c108
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c107
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c106
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c105
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c104
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c103
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c102
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c101
2026-08-11	shanghai fantasy	c100

12 3 4 5 Next Last

Community Reviews

Rating(0 / 5.0, 26votes)

5 stars

0(0%)

4 stars

0(0%)

3 stars

0(0%)

2 stars

0(0%)

1 stars

0(0%)

Popular reviews

xpiredsin Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ October 5,2025

I keep coming back to the embroidery motif and I think it's way more than just a hobby. Lin Aiyun stitching away in that window with the cool breeze—what is she actually doing? She's creating beauty in a moment of uncertainty. In her past life, embroidery was how she passed time with Xiao Cheng, how she filled a room with her work. Here, in this new life, it's the same impulse: make something lasting, something beautiful, something that proves you existed. The wutong flowers in the Xiao family courtyard—that's memory as both comfort and wound. She smiles thinking about them, but it's a bittersweet smile. The flowers bloom regardless, but she's not there to see them. And then the kidnapping strips her of everything—her agency, her safety, her ability to even move. The embroidery becomes a symbol of what she's fighting to get back to: the quiet power of creating, of choosing what to make with her time and hands. Meanwhile, the child with the slingshot is the perversion of that same innocence. He's supposed to be playing, but he's been weaponized. The mulberries—Lin Aiyun going specifically for those because Auntie Hui said they were delicious. It's an act of love, of connection, and that's exactly what gets her trapped. Her kindness is her vulnerability. But also her strength. The fact that she throws something at Niu Wenshan even bound and drugged—that's the same impulse that made her help the child in the first place. Action through compassion, even when it's dangerous.

Reply Like(56) Helpful (11)

BDRAG Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ September 9,2025

I've been thinking about the symbolism in these chapters and it's deeper than I expected. The dreams. Xiao Cheng has been dreaming about Lin Aiyun night after night, and the acupuncture is actually shortening the duration of those dreams. So the treatment that's supposed to help him is also slowly removing the very thing he's searching for. There's something almost cruel about that - the cure is making him forget the cure's purpose. Is he being healed from something, or is he being erased from something? The needles themselves are symbolic too. Silver needles inserted into his body, controlling his sleep, his dreams, his very subconscious. There's a loss of agency there that feels important. And the orchid on Liu Hui's handkerchief - orchids symbolize refinement, purity, but also something rare and hard to find. Lin Aiyun tracing the embroidery with her mind, appreciating the craftsmanship even while covered in mud... she notices beauty in a moment of frustration. That's who she is. The water in the bath chamber is described as "greenish-black" - not clean, not pure, but therapeutic. The idea that healing comes through something murky and uncomfortable is a recurring theme. Lin Aiyun's journey to find Xiao Cheng will probably follow the same pattern - it won't be clean or easy, but it might be necessary. Also: rebirth. The text explicitly mentions Lin Aiyun's "rebirth" and her obsession with finding Xiao Cheng since then. What does it mean to carry memory from a past life into a new one? Is fate real, or is it just memory dressed up as destiny?

Reply Like(56) Helpful (9)

Nemesis_Ryzen Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ October 25,2025

Let's talk about Xiao Cheng first, because this man is a whole mood. The opening scene gives us so much about him without saying anything directly. Insomnia for months. Cigarettes by the pillow. Scars on his chest that look like they came from real violence. And that line—"When I find you, you'd better cry your fill." Who is he talking to? A woman he wronged? A woman who wronged him? The ambiguity is delicious. Then there's Jiang Yan, the son of the man who serves him. Jiang Guojun sent his son to the military years ago, and now Xiao Cheng has brought him back. The power dynamic between them is thick enough to cut with a knife. Xiao Cheng's warning—"stay away from the young ladies"—feels like it's about more than just rules. Is he protecting Jiang Yan? Or is he claiming something for himself? And Lin Aiyun's relationship with her aunt Zhang Wenyue? This is the warm counterpoint to all the cold tension. Zhang Wenyue is fierce, protective, sharp-tongued—and absolutely adores her niece. The scene where she scolds the village gossips and then immediately pivots to making Lin Aiyun comfortable? That's love in action. But then there's that neighbor—the old bachelor who watches Lin Aiyun with a strange smile. Zhang Wenyue's warning about him is chilling: "Don't be fooled by his refined looks." The man's presence hangs over this entire section like a threat waiting to happen. The relationships here are layered with unspoken history, power, and danger. I'm invested in all of them.

Reply Like(52) Helpful (16)

dreamy_charcoal Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ December 25,2025

The stakes in this batch operate on two levels, and both are compelling. On Lin Aiyun's side, the conflict is social and personal. She's been driven from her home by village gossip—rumors that have ruined her reputation and forced her to flee to her aunt's house in a neighboring county. The stakes here are survival: her family's honor, her own future, her sense of safety. When her father says "by summer at the latest" and "once the gossip dies down," it implies this is temporary. But temporary how long? And what happens when she returns to a place that has turned against her? On Xiao Cheng's side, the stakes feel far more dangerous. The political tension is palpable—"the capital was under intense scrutiny," "a single careless word could cost a man his life." His insomnia, his scars, his cryptic vow to find someone and make them cry—all of this suggests a man carrying enormous weight. The stakes here aren't just social; they're physical, possibly lethal. And then there's the neighbor. The old bachelor with the strange smile. Zhang Wenyue's warning is specific and urgent: "If she tries to strike up a conversation with you, don't engage—just walk away." The stakes with him are immediate and personal. A man who "has issues in that department" and "the more he can't have, the more he craves it" is not someone you want crossing your path. Three separate threads of conflict, three different kinds of danger, and they're all building toward something. I can feel it.

Reply Like(50) Helpful (20)

TomzyGabs19 Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ July 4,2025

The atmosphere in these chapters is *chef's kiss*. Let me start with the rain. It's not just weather — it's a mood. "Rain beat against the wisteria, making a crackling sound with no sign of letting up." That line. The wisteria, the rain, the sound — it paints this entire scene in watercolor. You can feel the dampness. You can smell the wet earth. And then there's the contrast: Xiao Cheng in his expensive clothes sitting in this shabby little herbal shop, tapping his long fingers on the table, smoking, watching her. The visual of him is so sharp — "broad and large, beautiful and bony, with prominent veins pulsing beneath the thin skin." This man is carved from marble and menace. But then we cut to the family kitchen, pungent ginger soup smell filling every room, kids wrinkling their noses, the clatter of bowls. It's gritty and real and warm. The author doesn't just describe settings — they make you LIVE in them. Even the detail about Lin Aiyun's cigarette burn on her chest, how it broke the skin slightly, how it would heal in a few days — it's visceral. You can feel the sting just reading it. This world feels tangible, like you could walk through it.

Reply Like(46) Helpful (19)

IAmTheCat Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ April 26,2026

The author really knows how to paint a scene and the basement sequence is absolutely chilling. Let me just say—the sensory details are INSANE. 'A piece of ragged cloth was stuffed in her mouth, wrapped with tape on the outside—she could only breathe through her nose.' I could literally feel that. The damp floor, the dim light coming through that small window high up on the wall, the clutter of odds and ends around her. It's so claustrophobic I needed to stretch after reading it. And the kid—sitting cross-legged by the door playing with a slingshot. That image is burned into my brain. A child weaponized like this, just casually picking up pebbles while a woman is bound on the floor. The contrast between his childish activity and the horror of the situation is so effective. Then the lighting shift—sunlight to moonlight, and when the door bursts open with that kerosene lamp glow. 'The faint, warm yellow light enveloped the figure, and for a moment, the world seemed to fall into a suffocating silence.' That line gave me actual chills. The visual of Niu Wenshan's head nearly brushing the doorframe, dressed in black from head to toe, hidden in shadow—it's like a horror movie reveal. And the market scene before all this! The mung bean cakes, the mulberry stall, Liu Hui haggling over fish prices. It feels so lived-in, so ordinary, which makes the kidnapping hit even harder. The world feels real because it's built from these small domestic details before it shatters.

Reply Like(45) Helpful (15)

See all reviews